In a chirp-modulated communication system the offset of the carrier frequencies between the transmitter and receiver appears as a time offset at the receiver. Current chirp-modulated communication systems do not attempt to determine the actual frequency offset, and, therefore, the symbol timing at the receiver may be misaligned with the received data. This produces a non-optimal partial correlation or intersymbol interference (ISI) that degrades the sensitivity of the receiver. Additionally, if the receiver has no knowledge of the frequency offset it must track the signal based upon the demodulated data in order to maintain synchronization. However, if the frequency offset is known at the receiver, it can use a much more robust means of tracking the signal. If the symbol clock and carrier frequency are derived from the same oscillator at the transmitter and receiver, the frequency offset is proportional to the time drift. Thus, the frequency offset information can be used to track the incoming signal. This method of tracking is much more robust in high interference or low signal to noise ratio environments.
What is needed is a system and method for reducing ISI and enhancing receiver performance in a communication system.